I've been MIA lately, and I do apologize. I haven't felt like myself in a few weeks and have taken some time to do some soul searching. As I was telling a dear friend this morning, it seems as if I have lost my joy in doing the little things that a wife and mother do. When I pick up my husbands shoes that he kicks off by the front door, I have grumbled and complained instead of thanking God that I have a husband who can walk. When I wash the dishes I feel trodden down instead of being thankful that there are dirty dishes, because that means we have food to eat. I have snapped at my husband for staying late at work when I should be thankful that he has a job and can provide for us. You see, if you take joy in the small things, it will run over into the big things. And lately, I can't find that joy. I am working hard, praying hard, and I am sure that with the help of wonderful friends, family, and God, I will come through this valley.

I am working hard today and this next week to get my household back on track. I have the yard, flowers and vegetables almost on track again. (And will tonight when I finally plant my potatoes in the trash can! Yes -- a trash can -- ask me how!) On Wednesday of next week I hope to get back to regular blogging, as we will be on a mini vacation until then. Happy Memorial Day!

Are you ready to be swarmed with pictures?

When our old (not so old, actually!) camera broke on us shortly after Sara came along, my mom lent us her HP camera to get us through until we had the money saved to buy a really nice one. It's an older model, but has been faithful to us thus far...even though it likes to eat the battery life. Thank God for rechargeable batteries! I was having to take it to Wal-Mart and put all of the pictures on a CD to upload onto the computer (which could get expensive at $2.50 per CD!), but she found her camera cord and software CD while spring cleaning today. Thank the Lord! Now I will be able to put pictures up more often AND more easily. Can't beat that with a stick. :)

As some of you might know, Michael is most likely deploying to Afghanistan in October. I am having a hard time with it. It is affecting my attitude and my soul a little more every day. I am very happy to say that tonight I finally turned it all over to the Lord and will trust Him to take us through! I don't know why I couldn't/didn't do that before. I wasn't even expecting it. I was saying goodnight prayers with Sara as I was putting her to bed and suddenly I was on my knees, crying, and pouring out my soul. It feels good to be "free" of such a worry! I'm sure my husband will rejoice in the change in my manner, as well. 

Life seems to be so busy lately. My goal for this week is to slow down and enjoy the little moments. I'll let you know next Sunday how that went!

Menu Plan Monday!

I'm a little late, but don't shoot me. I had half of this post made yesterday and Mike closed the computer down. I didn't have time to make it again, so I'm here today!

For those of you who don't know what Menu Plan Monday is, it's really simple. I just post my menu plan each Monday so you can see what we're eating for the week. I was telling my friend Erica this morning that the last time I went grocery shopping was on March 15, and I spent $200. I have bought about $60 since then in fresh fruit, milk, cheese, etc.... we are on Week 6 of eating from the pantry/freezer, and this puts us at an average of $43/week for groceries. Now, we have been on a couple of weekends away since then, but that's still pretty good in my opinion. Without further ado, here is our menu plan!

Monday:

Breakfast: leftover apple cake

Lunch: half of a cheese quesadilla for Sara, ramen noodles for me (hey, I know -- I'm trying to clean out my freezer and pantry here!)

Supper: italian sausage brats with onion, stuffed jalapenos

Tuesday:

Breakfast: muffins, lemon raspberry cake (had friends over for coffee)

Lunch: fried egg sandwiches

Supper: eating at a family birthday party

Wednesday:

Breakfast: oatmeal with honey butter toast

Lunch: will be at a book club meeting so we'll have whatever is there

Supper: tuna noodle casserole (made with farfalle pasta I had in the cabinet and peas that we had left over from supper one night that I threw in the freezer), strawberry shortcake

Thursday:

Breakfast: grits and lemon raspberry bread

Lunch: cheese quesadillas with chips and salsa

Supper: split pea soup and cornbread

Friday:

Breakfast: muffins

Lunch: leftover split pea soup

Supper: baked cajun flavored catfish with vegetable casserole

Saturday:

Breakfast: scrambled eggs and toast with pumpkin butter

Lunch: spinach, cheese, and bean quesadillas with chips and salsa

Supper: roast with onion and carrots, purple hull peas and green beans

Sunday:

Breakfast: toast with grape jelly and yogurt

Lunch: leftover roast with fresh corn

Supper: clean out the fridge/leftovers

I'll have to let you know how it goes!

In other news, we just got back from a wonderful weekend getaway to Orange Beach. We went with my father's side of the family. My youngest sister Allie had a softball tournament there, and it was the first ball game I've been able to see her play in since I got married so it was nice. All the fun in the sun led to little miss Sara sleeping all day yesterday, which was a-ok with me!

Something always comes through.

Michael and I have been praying for a long time about a certain situation we're in. I was beginning to get discouraged, and we had decided to take the easy way out and just get rid of the problem, instead of fixing it. We were about to make the final phone call, when out of the blue, someone kindly offered their services and advice last night! I am thrilled and honestly felt a bit guilty that I was moving on as soon as God hadn't answered our prayer. I'm constantly reminded that He answers prayer in His time, not in ours. This is a struggle for me as I like to be in control of everything. That's something I am working hard on, but I can't do it alone. 

Are any of you struggling with your time and commitments lately? I feel very overwhelmed these days. I can't remember what I've done with anything, it seems, and I often find myself at 3:30 wondering, "What will I have for dinner? Why haven't I finished the laundry? Why didn't I sew today? Why didn't I do this, or do that?" I have got to learn to use my day more wisely. Having only one vehicle certainly helps, as the days that Michael uses it for work I have a lot more time. But then I run into, "I'll be home tomorrow, so I'll just do it then." It is a never-ending, viscious cycle. Hopefully today will be the day I get a grip on things. After I finish today's blog, I am turning off the computer (probably my biggest problem) and working constantly, non-stop, throughout the day. Maybe after this day I will be caught up and can just maintain. Do you busy mamas have any tips for me? I could sure use them.

On a happier note, I found someone in our town who sells free-range eggs! Woohoo! I am going to call her today to pick up my first dozen. I much prefer buying locally/organic, so this is very exciting for me. I am also going to work on preparing a small garden this week. Hopefully it will be planted very soon, as I'm quickly running out of time! I think this year I will do tomatoes, bell peppers, cucumbers, onions, and maybe some peas or beans if I have room. I want to do about 5-10 tomato plants, because I plan on putting them up for sauces in the winter. My uncle Sonny normally has a huge garden each year, and I'm going to be purchasing lots of veg from him to can and freeze. My goal is to not have to buy any (or at the very least, only a little) in the way of veg from the grocery store this winter. Last year I only grew bell peppers and onions, so if you have any tips, send them my way!

I'm off for now. My day is calling. :)

Don't you love the look on her face? "Don't mess with me....I've got my cup!" She is a handful. This morning she put herself in the corner (for no apparent reason) and started crying. I knelt down beside her to say that she wasn't in trouble....then I noticed she was looking at me out of the corner of her eye. And then she giggled. She was putting on a show for mama. Is she mocking us? At only 18 months? I think I'm in for it!

As you may know, I am turning into quite the frugal housewife. I recently discovered the ECB (Extra Care Bucks) system at CVS. If you haven't taken advantage of this, you really should! I'm one visit in and well on my way to never paying for toiletries again! For your first visit, be prepared to dish out a bit of cash. This week they had Coke's (I know, I know...but I send them to work with Mike!) 3/$11. If you used your ECB card, you got $3 cash back on it. That's really like getting them 3/$8, or $2.67 each! I don't know if you've noticed, but they are upwards of $4 elsewhere these days. I also got Colgate toothpaste, which was $2.99, with $2.00 back on your ECB card. Already I have $5 to use next time! It's almost like a game now. I can't wait for the next circular to come around!

I wasn't planning on grocery shopping this week, but I had to go to Winn Dixie for a few things for the meal plan this week and I caved a bit. I ended up spending $63.47 (although $19.02 was at the hot bar...I'm still learning how to be frugal! I need to learn to plan my time and days better so that there is no eating out, I know) but I saved $16.74 with my rewards card and manufacturer coupons. Yay for saving money! I have set up a grocery and household budget of $200 per month, or $50 per week. Yes, I believe I can stick to it. :) We shall see!

A relaxing weekend away?

Mike went back home to Tampa this weekend to see Ben Folds in concert with his friend Jeff, so Sara, Delaney & I came to stay with my mama in Tallassee. We have been apart since Thursday night, and I must admit that while I love being in my hometown, I miss my husband and can't wait to get back to my own house.

Yesterday my mama, my Aunt Laura and her son Bo, Sara and I had a wonderful supper together. Have you ever had cornbread cake? You should try it. It's plum delicious! How funny that they call it "cornbread cake" because there's no cornbread in it. It's not anything like cornbread would taste, even....it makes for a very good coffee cake.

Oh, by the way....thank you, God, for the rain -- but I'm ready for dry grounds and sunshine now. :)

Happy Birthday to me!

I am 24 years old today. Well, I will be at 7:10 p.m. My phone is dead and I can't find the charger, so I'm sure I will have tons of missed calls to return. I feel sort of sad because my mama can't get a hold of me. If you're reading this, mama, I'll call you tonight!

By the way -- I finally figured out how to post pictures! I am incredibly thankful. It was right before my eyes the whole time! I told you I wasn't good in the technological department. :)

Sara loves to play outside. Our little girl would stay out there all day long if we let her. She loves to play while I put the clothes out on the line or when I'm taking them in. Sometimes I'm even able to fold them as I take them off the line because she's having such a good time playing. Unfortunately, we killed two snakes in our yard yesterday, so Sara's playing days are going to be scarce for the next little while...until my fear eases up a bit.

Sara & I have had a nice day. This morning we went to the gym, and Sara actually didn't cry when I left her in the child care room! That was a great birthday gift. After I finished working out, we went over to the Main Street Toy Shop and picked up a new cloth diaper and liners from our friend Rachel, who owns Two Little Whales (www.twolittlewhales.com). We got a night time diaper from DryBees, and we can't wait to try it out tonight! We ran a few more errands and came home to pick up the house. We've been playing ever since.

Michael is coming home tonight and cooking Thai Chicken Fettuccine for my birthday supper. :) I have some apple bread to bake and we will watch American Idol tonight. We are such exciting people. :)